Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman’s cognitive fitness to be in his position — at least now, and possibly for the remainder of his life — is clearly compromised. This is beyond debate.
It became clear from his first appearances after the stroke he suffered just before the Pennsylvania Democratic primary, was on full display in his debate against GOP challenger Dr. Mehmet Oz, and has not improved significantly since. This isn’t funny, and it isn’t “owning the Dems.” This proves that the Democratic political machine prefers a warm body in the seat and that those around Fetterman were too ambitious and cared too little about the man himself to advise him to withdraw from the race.
All these things are beyond question for anyone who watches the senator for an extended period of time. This isn’t mockery; it’s just acknowledging reality. And if Pennsylvanians needed any more evidence that this is going to affect them negatively, consider that the main takeaway from his remarks on an overpass collapse on I-95 in Philadelphia during a Senate Environment Committee on Wednesday was Fetterman’s unfitness.
According to the New York Post, the incident occurred when Sen. Tom Carper of Delaware, who chairs the committee, invited Fetterman to comment on the collapse of several portions of the elevated highway June 11. The collapse occurred after a tanker truck filled with several thousand gallons of gas burst into flames underneath the overpass, melting some of the steel beams critical to the bridge’s structural integrity.
According to CBS News, the driver of the tanker truck was killed in the crash. He was identified as Nathan Moody, a father of three,
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Carper is a Democrat, so it’s not like he was playing a dirty trick on Fetterman. It certainly might have seemed that way after the senator fumbled his way through nigh incoherent impromptu remarks on the incident:
Senator John Fetterman on the I-95 bridge collapse in Philadelphia:
“I, uh, would just, um, really like to, you know — the 95, 95, 95. You know?” pic.twitter.com/QN84NhBmpS
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) June 16, 2023
“Uh no, I — uh, would just, um, really like to, you know — the 95, 95, 95. You know?” Fetterman said.
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“Obviously, you know, you’re pretty much preoccupied with uh 95. And uh, I certainly am, too. And we know it’s a major atery [sic], not just for Pennsylvania but for the East Coast,” he continued.
“And a lot of Pennsylvanians are worried that the delays in repairs bring to its stand still deal.”
The Post, a conservative-leaning outlet, did charitably note that “the senator’s speech seemed to improve the longer he spoke.” I don’t doubt that it did, because the only way for it to deteriorate would be for him to start babbling like a child.
It is enough, however, that a mystery woman who was sitting behind Fetterman as he made his remarks went viral, too:
— BongBong (@BongBong) June 16, 2023
There were plenty of other reactions to Fetterman’s remarks on Twitter, but this look might have been the most telling. The woman is sitting behind the desks in the Senate hearing room — so we’re clearly not dealing with some random visitor who got into the gallery, but instead an individual with some level of importance and respect for the institution of Congress. Even she couldn’t help but stifle a smile at the senator’s profound inability to cognitively express his thoughts, such as they may be.
It’s not nice — but, one imagines, it wasn’t intentional. And yet, as some Twitter users noted, the fact that she couldn’t contain herself said it all:
I saw that she was trying not to laugh. 95 95 95
— MAGA Michele (@thewalkerseven) June 16, 2023
Her face makes the case.
— Dave Syverson (@SyversonDave) June 16, 2023
I take no glee in someone laughing at John Fetterman’s inability to do his job — but then, this is how compassionate Democrats (and Fetterman’s people in particular) are.
At some point not too long after Fetterman suffered his stroke, one imagines, they had a reasonable idea of how this would affect his ability to effectively represent the people of Pennsylvania on day one, were he to be elected. That’s why they mostly kept him off the campaign trail and didn’t agree to a debate until after roughly three-quarters of mail-in ballots had already been cast.
For the rest of the campaign, they propped him up day after day and barely got him across the finish line. Then, after that, he had to be hospitalized again, this time for depression potentially related to the stroke, which kept him sidelined for the beginning of the new Congress.
Now that he’s returned, they continue to prop him up; last month, Fox News reported that Fetterman’s staff had been significantly altering transcripts of his remarks to make them sound more coherent. The issue became a minor scandal after a Washington Post reporter tweeted a quote fed to him by Fetterman’s staff that differed significantly from what he actually said — and in predictable ways.
Yesterday I tweeted this quote, provided to me by the Senator’s office, without checking it against the video. That was my fault. Though it captured his meaning, I deleted the tweet since some of the words in the quote were inaccurate pic.twitter.com/jkDYYr2EU2
— Jeff Stein (@JStein_WaPo) May 17, 2023
🔥🔥🔥🔥 Senator John Fetterman asks Silicon Valley if they should have work requirements:
“Republicans want a work requirement for SNAP, for hungry families…Shouldn’t you have a working requirement after we bail out your bank?”
🔥Thank you, Senator! 🔥pic.twitter.com/NejbucJtcR
— Peter Morley (@morethanmySLE) May 16, 2023
And they keep on sending him out there despite the fact he’s in no condition to be in the upper chamber. The same could be said for Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who was the subject of ire when the nearly-nonagenarian California senator was hospitalized with a serious illness that held up the progress of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Tough town, Washington.
For the people of Pennsylvania, however, this is no laughing matter. They’re stuck with this for the better part of six more years. The worst may be yet to come.
